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Administrative division of Nazi Germany
, 1943]] Following the suppression of the individual Länder (states) of Weimar Germany in 1934, the Gaue (Singular: Gau) were the de facto administrative sub-divisions of Nazi Germany. The Nazi Gaue were formed in 1926 as Nazi party districts of the respective German states and Prussian provinces as shaped in the aftermath of World War I. Die NS-Gaue, Deutsches Historisches Museum, accessed: 25 June 2008 Each Gau had an administrative leader, the Gauleiter (Gau leader). Though Länder and Prussian provinces continued to exist after the Enabling Act of 1933, their administration was reduced to a rudimental body attached to the respective Nazi Gau administration in the Gleichschaltung process. In total, Germany consisited of 32 Gaue in 1934, and 42 Gaue at its collapse in 1945.The Organization of the Nazi Party & State The Nizkor Project, accessed: 25 June 2008 The regions occupied in 1938 (Anschluss of Austria, Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia by the Munich Agreement) and early 1939 (Klaipėda Region or Memelland from Lithuania) as well as the areas conquered during the Second World War were either incorporated into existing Gaue or organised in so-called Reichsgaue, similar to the Gaue in all but name. In the Reichsgaue, the Gauleiter also carried the position of Reichsstatthalter. Eventually, in the aftermath of its defeat in the war, and the Yalta Conference, Germany would lose not only the newly annexed territories but some of the territories it held before the Nazi government assumed power; it would also spend most of the following second half of the 20th century divided into two separate states. Gaue, Reichsgaue and Länder The Gaue existed parallel to the German states, the Länder, and Prussian provinces throughout the Nazi period. Pro forma, the Administrative division of Weimar Germany was left in place. The plan to abolish the Länder was ultimately given up because Hitler shrank away from structural reforms, a so-called Reichsreform, fearing it would upset local party leaders. For the same reason, the borders of the Gaue remained unchanged within Germany throughout this time. The Gaue were only enlarged through the adding of occupied territories after 1938. Gau (NSDAP) - Kontinuität der Gaugliederung nach 1933, Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, accessed: 25 June 2008 While the Länder continued to exist, the real power on local level did lay with the Gauleiters, not the Minister Presidents of the German states. The Gauleiter were directly appointed by Hitler and only answerable to him. In practice, interference from above was rare and their power almost absolute. Gaue established in 1934 Reichsgaue established in 1938 New Reichsgaue were established after the Anschluss of Austria and the incorporation of Sudetenland following the Munich Agreement. Southern parts of Czechoslovakia also gained by the Munich Agreement were not made part of Reichsgau Sudetenland, but incorporated into the northern Reichsgaue of former Austria. Second World War Of the territories annexed from Poland and the Free City of Danzig in 1939, Reichsgau Wartheland and Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia were created. Annexed territories of pre-war Poland not within these two Reichsgaue was incorporated into the neighboring Gaue East Prussia and Silesia. Alsace-Lorraine, annexed from pre-war France in 1940, was split between the bordering Southwestern Gaue of Nazi Germany. Auslandsgau There was also an extraterritorial Gau named Auslandsorganisation for party members overseas. Its headquarters were in Berlin. This Auslandsgau was considered to be the 43rd Gau of Nazi Germany. See also * Administrative division of Weimar Germany * Administrative divisions of the Federal Republic of Germany * Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic * Administrative divisions of Germany * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * States of the German Empire Sources * Der große Atlas der Weltgeschichte (in German), Historical map book, published: 1990, publisher: Orbis Verlag, Munich, ISBN 3572047552 References External links * Shoa.de - List of Gaue and Gauleiter (in German) Category:Nazi Gaue Category:Nazi Germany Category:Lists of country subdivisions Category:Former subdivisions of Germany Category:Gauliga Administrative division of Nazi Germany de:Struktur der NSDAP nl:Nazigouw ja:大管区 (ナチ党) ru:Административно-территориальное устройство Третьего рейха